The Difference Between Uptown and Downtown

If you do a search on the internet asking about the difference between uptown and downtown, you will see several different answers. Some make perfect sense, but others show the confusion between the two. For example, if you stand in the center of Montgomery Alabama, are you Uptown or Downtown? No one really knows. Of course, there is speculation on what the correct answer is.

Uptown is defined as “to, toward, situated in, or pertaining to the upper part of a town.” That definition seems pretty straight forward. But now we get to the problem. The definition of Downtown is “of, pertaining to, or situated in the main business section of a city.” Put those two definitions together, and all of sudden you have no idea where you are.

You can have the same problem when you are deciding where you are in your life. Imagine yourself standing on an “X” that is in the center of everything in your life. You can see your work, your family, your friends, and other aspects of your life floating around you. At this point, all you know is that you are at the center of all of that activity.

Now, recognize how you feel about all of those events. In a lot of cases, you can feel overwhelmed and confused. Other times, you see things very clearly and feel happy that you have so much in your life to appreciate. But here is the real question: Do you feel like taking a step forward to meet your challenges or a step backwards to get away from them?

If you are taking a step forward you are going Uptown. You have a positive attitude that lets you do whatever you need to do to make your life what you want it to be. You learn from any past mistakes, and keep moving forward. On the other hand, if you are taking a step backwards you are going downtown, letting self-doubt and negativity get in the way of what you want in life. This is when you have to get brave and look forward. Change the way you think, enabling you to step forward. Sure, there will be times in your life when you’ll be Downtown again, but remember that you live Uptown. That is where you will find the happiness in your life that you have been striving for.